it's not just an amendment that protects speech and religion but it protects association, it protects people coming together and making things happen in their community that wouldn't happen otherwise. americans give to these things like nobody else would every day. our religious institutions, our charities, our hospitals, our museums and others come together to take private resources and meet a number of community needs that are met in the best possible way by people who are doing that through a charitable effort. feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, serving the poor, educational institutions of all kinds undertaking critical research, money that goes to either help operate or actually support museums and parks. these are all the kinds of things that americans do because they give to charity. now, these things are so often done better than government bureaucracies would achieve this goal. cheaper, more effectively, more reasonably and -- and we need to do everything we can to continue to do that. in 2011, americans gave nearly $300 billion to charitable causes. 75% of that giving